Halloween Fancy Dress

Halloween has always been a time of myth and magic..and superstitions.  Although people would light candles, leave treats outside their doors and lay a place setting at the table for loved ones whom has passed into the spirit world, there were still the fear of encounters with evil spirits.

Many of today’s Halloween stories are scarier and rife with superstition.  We won’t walk across the path of a black cat for fear of the bad luck it may bring us. This comes from the old belief that witches turned themselves into black cats to avoid being detected. 

Another superstition, that of avoiding walking under ladders may also have come from ancient fears.  The Egyptians believed triangles to be sacred so to walk through that type of space would offend the gods. 

But what about the futuristic types of legends?  In Ireland for example, a matchmaking woman may hide a ring in her mashed potatoes, desiring to bring love to the lucky finder.

Many of these beliefs centred around love and matchmaking.  Single women on Halloween, depending on where they were from would do things such as take nuts and name them for their suitors and then throw them into the fire.  The one which burned to ashes represented her future husband.  They’d throw apple skins over their shoulders and supposedly the skins would land in the shape of the initials of her mate-to-be. Some were instructed to drink sugary, walnut and nutmeg drinks before bed on Halloween night and that they’d dream of their future husband. 

Technorati Tags: Department 56 Halloween, Halloween Decorating Spider, Halloween Haunted House, Halloween Lights, Halloween Scary, Halloween Skeleton, Halloween Spider, Halloween Spooky Ideas, Halloween Spooky Monster Head, Halloween Vampire